According to INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield, a stretch of the new highway between US 231, where the highway currently ends, and the bridge on County Road 215 E was the objective.

"They will pave northeast for about 4,000 feet to the CR 215 bridge, then pave back in the opposite direction toward U.S. 231," Wingfield explained. "All but two of the I-69 contracts are using concrete travel lanes for the mainline."

During the first day of the surfacing project on Monday, E&B Paving, a subcontractor to Crider & Crider of Bloomington, laid down a swath about 30 feet wide for a distance of about 700 feet along the 4.6 mile, $27 million contract also known as I-69 Section 4.

The paving was slated to continue until midweek when Wingfield estimated they would complete the scheduled work.

The planned span of highway involved in Section 4 is sub-divided into nine segments that covers a planned total distance of 27.17 miles. When finished, it will connect the highway from where it ends now, near Bloomfield, to the city of Bloomington.

After this week's work, the first segment of the project is approximately 61 percent completed.